Did ancestors fear birds?

January 13, 2006|By From news services.

A U.S. researcher in Johannesburg believes he has solved the mystery of how one of the most important human ancestors died nearly 2 million years ago: An eagle killed the 31 1/42-year-old ape-man known as the Taung child. The discovery suggests small human ancestors known as hominids had to survive being hunted not only by large predators on the ground but by fearsome raptors that swooped from the sky.